Databases, Video Conferencing and Discussion Forums
Knowledge Management Technologies Knowledge management is evolving every day with many aspects and bonuses coming from the various technological fields. There have been many technologies that have been created in order to help capture, manage and facilitate the knowledge that individuals or an organization possess that can provide multiple benefits if utilized properly. Provided for review below is a sample of technologies that can be implemented today in order to manage knowledge. What is a database? Databases are a structured collection of records or data that is stored in a computer so that it can be consulted by a program to answer queries. Electronic databases allow a business to have a structured hub of information that allows businesses the ability to access all information stored in a quick and easy manner. One of the first steps of implementing and gaining benefits from a database is to determine the size of the database needed and the analytical complexity that will be required in your system. How information will be received by the users, which actions need to be automated and which users will be able to access the information. Once these items are determined you will be able to accurately identify the users’ needs and the information needed to be collected and retrieved. Types of databases: Hierarchical database A hierarchical database model is a data model in which the data is organized into a tree-like structure. The data is stored as records which are connected to one another through links. A record is a collection of fields, with each field containing only one value. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hierarchical_database_model Network database: The network model is a database model conceived as a flexible way of representing objects and their relationships. Its distinguishing feature is that the schema, viewed as a graph in which object types are nodes and relationship types are arcs, is not restricted to being a hierarchy or lattice. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_model Relational database: The relational model (RM) for database management is an approach to managing data using a structure and language consistent with first-order predicate logic where all data is represented in terms of tuples, grouped into relations. A database organized in terms of the relational model is a relational database. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relational_model Entity Relationship database: An entity–relationship model (ER model) describes enter-related things of interest in a specific domain of knowledge. An ER model is composed of entity types (which classify the things of interest) and specifies relationships that can exist between instances of those entity types. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entity%E2%80%93relationship_model Object database: An object database is a database management system in which information is represented in the form of objects as used in object-oriented programming. Object databases are different from relational databases which are table-oriented. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Object_database Document database: A document-oriented database, or document store, is a computer program designed for storing, retrieving and managing document-oriented information, also known as semi-structured data. Document-oriented databases are one of the main categories of NoSQL databases, and the popularity of the term "document-oriented database" has grown with the use of the term NoSQL itself. XML databases are a subclass of document-oriented databases that are optimized to work with XML documents. Graph databases are similar, but add another layer, the relationship, which allows them to link documents for rapid traversal. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Document-oriented_database Entity-Attribute database: Entity–attribute–value model (EAV) is a data model to encode, in a space-efficient manner, entities where the number of attributes (properties, parameters) that can be used to describe them is potentially vast, but the number that will actually apply to a given entity is relatively modest. Such entities correspond to the mathematical notion of a sparse matrix. EAV is also known as object–attribute–value model, vertical database model and open schema. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entity%E2%80%93attribute%E2%80%93value_model Schema database: In computing, the star schema is the simplest style of data mart schema and is the approach most widely used to develop data warehouses and dimensional data marts. The star schema consists of one or more fact tables referencing any number of dimension tables. The star schema is an important special case of the snowflake schema, and is more effective for handling simpler queries. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_schema Video Conferencing: Communication of an internet connection in a live video method can help all parties connect and interact with one another over many time zones and locations. This method of interaction and communication can help support the knowledge creation and transfer on a regular basis but has a true value when you consider project timelines or budget constraints. Video conferencing can create a structure that allows discussions and knowledge to be logged and categorized in a real-time setting or saved for review later. There are multiple software tools and companies that offer video conferencing at the enterprise or individual level. Google Hangouts Google Hangouts. Google Hangouts is a unified communications service that allows members to initiate and participate in text, voice or video chats, either one-on-one or in a group. Hangouts are built into Google+ and Gmail, and mobile Hangouts apps are available for iOS and Android devices. http://searchmobilecomputing.techtarget.com/definition/Google-Hangouts Adobe Connect Adobe Connect Meeting is a live online conference for multiple users. The meeting room is an online application that you use to conduct a meeting. The meeting room consists of various display panels (pods) and components. There are several prebuilt meeting room layouts, or customize a layout to suit your needs. The meeting room lets meeting attendees share computer screens or files, chat, broadcast audio, and video, and participate in interactive online activities. https://helpx.adobe.com/adobe-connect/using/meeting-basics.html Skype for Business: Skype for Business, formerly known as Microsoft Lync Server, is a unified communications (UC) platform that integrates common channels of business communication and online meetings, including instant messaging (IM), presence, voice over IP (VoIP), voicemail, file transfers, video conferencing, web conferencing and email. http://searchunifiedcommunications.techtarget.com/definition/Skype-for-Business Cisco Webex: Cisco WebEx, formerly WebEx Communications Inc. is a company that provides on-demand collaboration, online meeting, web conferencing and videoconferencing applications. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WebEx Citrix GoToMeeting GoToMeeting is a web-hosted service created and marketed by LogMeIn. It is an online meeting, desktop sharing, and video conferencing software that enables the user to meet with other computer users, customers, clients or colleagues via the Internet in real time. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GoToMeeting Fuze Today’s work environment is marked by constant change and lots of variability. This affects your workforce’s ability to perform and communicate across internal teams, and also with clients, partners, and vendors. Modern video conferencing software allows your teams to start collaborating with the click of a button whether they're in the office or on the road, whether initiating a meeting or attending a meeting. Fuze offers a consistent user experience across devices and the ability to hold meetings with hundreds of participants with our standard collaboration offering. Meeting leaders and attendees can join meetings online via HD VoIP or alternatively by using global dial-in access. https://www.fuze.com/unified-communications/collaboration#hd-audio Online Discussion Forum: Online discussion forums have had a lengthy history that can mirror the popularity growth of the internet. There are a plethora of forums that cover a majority of topics that almost span the vastness of an individual’s imagination. It is a platform for like minded individuals to gather and discuss topics that are relevant in their own life. When taken into consideration for a business or organizations implementation for knowledge management, discussion forums can provide a treasure trove of information and knowledge. Just as video conferencing and databases have multiple options so does the platform for discussion groups. If a company or organization is unable to create their own in house discussion groups they can invest in one of the following five popular online discussion forums. Xenfero: XenForo is a commercial Internet forum software package written in the PHP programming language using the Zend Framework. https://www.feverbee.com/platforms/xenforo/ vBulletin: vBulletin is a professional, affordable community forum solution. It gives you an instant community that lets your users to interact, take part in discussions, ask questions, give answers and express opinions. https://www.tmdhosting.com/kb/question/what-is-vbulletin/ bbPress: bbPress is free, open source forum software built on top of WordPress. It can be installed as a WordPress plugin into a WordPress powered website. Mybb: MyBB, also known as MyBBoard or MyBulletinBoard, is a powerful, efficient, and free forum package, developed using PHP and MySQL. Vanilla: Its open source product, Vanilla OSS, is a lightweight Internet forum package written in the PHP scripting language using the Garden framework. The software is released under the GNU GPL. Vanilla Forums is free software, standards-compliant, customizable discussion forums. Since 2009 there is also a cloud-hosted version (offered by Vanilla). The amount of electronic tools available to manage knowledge is growing in a fast paced manner that reflects the need for capturing and managing that information for a business. Implementation of any of the above options can help a business share the valuable knowledge in order to grow and stay competitive.